Do You Use Cheaper Or Expensive Journals

[Pussinboots]

I love pretty notebooks but being left handed I find the cheaper soft covered ones more comfortable to write in. Yet it's hard to resist lovely notebooks, do you agree?

[Dronak]

So far, I've generally used whatever notebooks are available at work, because that's where I do most of my writing. So they're probably cheaper products. However, I just ordered some better quality notebooks. Once my current work notebook is full, I'll probably use one of these better ones. As for the others I bought, I guess I'll decide what to do with them later.

[Octo]

I prefer the inexpensive composition notebooks (approximataely B5 size) and stock up when school supplies are on sale. Some have very good paper. I like the expanse of writing room. I rotate them through a luxurious Oberon leather cover.

[alaskazimm]

I use the Apica CD11 notebooks. I find them to be more comfortable to write in as opposed to the thicker journals. The thicker ones have a big drop off that breaks up my flow of writing and the CD11's thinner profile is much more comfortable to write in.

 

Also, they're shorter so I can aleviate boredom by changing up colours more often

[PaperDarts]

I've used both cheaper and more expensive journals and notebooks but what keeps me coming back to a brand is the paper - how well it works with my favourite pen and ink combinations. I tend to use hardcover notebooks because sometimes I don't have a writing surface handy. I like Apica, Clairfontaine, Rhodia, Writersblok and even Moleskine - some of my pen/ink combinations do just fine on Moleskine paper. I also have no-name notebooks that I pick up at dollar stores or office supply stores and many of them work just fine.

[e-beth]

I love a beautiful journal, but if it's "too special" I somehow think I have to save it until I have something very special to write in it and then it ends up sitting on my shelf!

 

Are the soft-cover journals easier for lefties to write in because it's easier to get them to lay flat? If so, you might be interested in getting a handmade blank book because they have a way of making them so that they lay flat (such as this one). Of course they are quite a bit more expensive than something from the store.

[episkey]

I think my journal prices ranges right in the middle... ($15-20)

 

I can't go too cheap or the feathering/bleedthrough issues would just drive me crazy.

 

I agree with e-beth, that if I were to buy something more on the expensive side, it will probably just sit there on my shelf waiting to be used until I have something "worthy' to write in it. (Okay, not going to lie... I have a handful of those already...)

[inkstainedruth]

I've wavered over the years between "nice looking" (and/or "handcrafted") with relatively poor quality paper as far as FP use is concerned, and "decent paper but as inexpensive as possible" journals. While I can't give a recommendation for a leftie, I will say that the Miquelrius 300 page journals are a good compromise for price and paper quality (standard disclaimer applies). I tried a 200 page one, beginning the first of the year, and it took me through the middle of May or so. I liked it well enough to go onto the Miquelrius-USA website and order a bunch of the 300 pages ones. They have soft covers, so they may be okay for someone left-handed.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

ETA: I have a handcrafted journal made by a friend, that was commissioned by my husband as a gift. I sat staring at it for several months trying to figure out what to do with it, since the morning pages journals are "write it and then don't look at it again". I eventually used it for when I tried redoing The Artist's Way creativity course. Didn't finish the course (got bogged down in Chapter 9 because I was trying to do it over the holidays), but if I ever go back to it I have that journal to start up again. That paper is, I believe made by Fabriano -- my friend is also a calligrapher (besides doing the bookbinding), so she understood the desire I had for good quality, smooth paper.

Edited July 20, 2015 by inkstainedruth

[mwpannell]

Mine range from cheap to mid/upper mid-range, I guess. Cheapest would be compostion books at US50-cents, which I use a whole lot of, and my top range would be a Hobonichi Cousin for US$50. In between that are Apicas, Clairfontaines, Black and Reds, Miodoris, etc. I've never bought anything with an espeically nice or expensive cover, but I've bought covers ranging from cheap plastic/mylar to nice, attractive and servicalbe faux leather that I've been very happy with.

Edited July 21, 2015 by mwpannell

[Sasha Royale]

I have old parents. More and more, they spend sessions in the hospital. At home, there are health issues, as well. There is always a journal on hand. I choose the 75¢ Composition notebook. Any visitor can write in it. Anyone can read the events and progression of events. I believe a patient receives better care, when they think we are paying attention.

 

We learn a lot. Did you know a hospital patient prefers a bucket of fried chicken over a bouquet of flowers ?

[Russ]

I learned to regard value differently. When I began journaling, I used copy paper stapled into a file folder. Then I moved to Exacompta unlined journals, before they stopped making them. Then I did a study of cost per square inch of blank page and moved to Kunst & Papier A4, 256 pages, 100 gram paper -- big, heavy journals that are intended for artists' wet application. They were expensive, but over a long period of time they serve very well and are more affordable than the cheaper journals. So what is the cheapest journal? The best journal? Whatever works for you. But I will keep using K&P as long as I can. I really like them!

[mmg122]

Pussinboots...have you ever considered the left handed notebooks sold by Write Notepads? They are really nice and very fountain pen friendly.

http://www.writepads.com

[ac12]

I use cheap stuff, because I write so much, and I don't want to constrain my writing because of the cost of the journal.

[Yohana]

I use Cavallini Papers notebooks as my journals. Never looked back again.

[Lamyrada]

Constantly find notebooks at target with really fine paper, also at WM.. CLAIREFOUNTAIN And TOMOE RIVER paper (not of my liking, too thin) and others are been used to. It's funny how we tend to save the fine notebooks for special writings that never come. I thought I was weird and so I have several empty notebooks sitting in my office saying, "use me". It's a waste of money. So my preferred find are those TRGT notebooks I am not timid to use and have perfectly FP friendly paper and are unlined! The second waste of money are those papers that are so bad that all inks and nibs feather.

[Sailor Kenshin]

I love pretty notebooks but being left handed I find the cheaper soft covered ones more comfortable to write in. Yet it's hard to resist lovely notebooks, do you agree?

 

Yes. But , like e-beth, then I think they're 'too' nice, and seldom use them. The exceptions are a few Kokuyo Campus notebooks I got at a good price off Amazon. And now and then a Clairefontaine.

 

Comp notebooks for me! Usually from India-made paper, sometimes Bagasse. I have stacks of them, and as a fellow southpaw, I just write from the back. Like a Japanese book.

[pepsiplease69]

I've wavered over the years between "nice looking" (and/or "handcrafted") with relatively poor quality paper as far as FP use is concerned, and "decent paper but as inexpensive as possible" journals. While I can't give a recommendation for a leftie, I will say that the Miquelrius 300 page journals are a good compromise for price and paper quality (standard disclaimer applies). I tried a 200 page one, beginning the first of the year, and it took me through the middle of May or so. I liked it well enough to go onto the Miquelrius-USA website and order a bunch of the 300 pages ones. They have soft covers, so they may be okay for someone left-handed.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

ETA: I have a handcrafted journal made by a friend, that was commissioned by my husband as a gift. I sat staring at it for several months trying to figure out what to do with it, since the morning pages journals are "write it and then don't look at it again". I eventually used it for when I tried redoing The Artist's Way creativity course. Didn't finish the course (got bogged down in Chapter 9 because I was trying to do it over the holidays), but if I ever go back to it I have that journal to start up again. That paper is, I believe made by Fabriano -- my friend is also a calligrapher (besides doing the bookbinding), so she understood the desire I had for good quality, smooth paper.

 

 

That's very interesting. I dabble a little in bookbinding myself and I've mostly stuck to Tomoe River paper because of ease of handling/folding and needless to say the superbness (if that's even a word) in its performance with fountain pens.

 

I didn't know Frabriano paper was available for use in bookbinding projects. What type of paper was it? Where can I get it from, I'd like to try it. Or maybe it was paper that was obtained by taking apart an existing Fabriano composition books?

 

And to your other point, all of my writing is also the same way "write it and then don't look at it again".

 

I write to soothe my mind and stay occupied and happy. It's very cathartic.

[Pussinboots]

Thanks for your replies. I live in the UK and we don't seem to get composition books but we do get exercise books which I guess are about the same.

 

How thick are the comp books? Our exercise books don't have a lot of pages so for a lot of writing would fill up quickly. How long do you find they last?

 

Would you recommend top bound pads for left handers? The only snag with these I feel would be that they are awkward when reading them back.

[Keyless Works]

I have lots of expensive notebooks but I just end up using Rhoida ones I get in bulk. It's not my favorite paper by any means but it's consistent and always works well with FP ink. I have tried ones cheaper than Rhodia but I haven't found anything good enough.

[inkstainedruth]

 

 

That's very interesting. I dabble a little in bookbinding myself and I've mostly stuck to Tomoe River paper because of ease of handling/folding and needless to say the superbness (if that's even a word) in its performance with fountain pens.

 

I didn't know Frabriano paper was available for use in bookbinding projects. What type of paper was it? Where can I get it from, I'd like to try it. Or maybe it was paper that was obtained by taking apart an existing Fabriano composition books?

 

And to your other point, all of my writing is also the same way "write it and then don't look at it again".

 

I write to soothe my mind and stay occupied and happy. It's very cathartic.

I think she got it at John Neal Booksellers -- it's really possibly watercolor paper, but hot press, so pretty smooth. A mutual friend who also does bookbinding mentioned Fabriano paper to me a while back. Beyond that, I don't have a clue, except that when it was commissioned I asked for paper that would be FP friendly.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth